Where do I go from here?

Well, I'm 52 and just picked up learning (again, since 20 years ago) in Jan. 2008. I started with lessons, dropped them, tried to go it alone, and signed up for lessons again. I also have no one to play or jam with, except a coworker who keeps asking me "When...?" I keep saying "Soon". I think it would be fun. But I also want to find a couple of guys to noodle around with... maybe a bass player, a lead guitarist (I play rhythm). Someone suggested putting a small ad up on a supermarket bulleting board outlining your level of experience, and goals.

I thought learning was going to be all about just learning songs, though I said I wanted to learn why I was playing what I was playing. I just couldn't see it. You don't know what you don't know, if you get my drift. So I told my current teacher I want to put the songs aside for a while, since I have a stockpile I can work on. Now we're getting into light theory... basic scales, triads, inversions, and now 7th chords (which in another post I completely got wrong, but now understand it better).

My teacher tells me to take one or two scales at a time and get them down pat. Then worry about the other 10 or 11. It's too much to chow down on at once.

So... long story short, I'd suggest lessons. On line lessons and videos are great, but there's nothing like finding someone you hit it off with and sitting together while he or she teaches and coaches and interacts with you. Make sure you express exactly what you want to learn, and don't just go with the flow. Some teachers are more aggressive in teaching what they want, others are so laid-back you can die of boredom. I made the mistake of not saying what I wanted the first two times, and became disillusioned. This time I told my teacher "Look, I don't like pentatonic scales, I don't like soloing or lead, I don't want to do it, I'm a rhythm guy". And he said "OK, you lead where we go, I'll teach you whatever you want to learn". Of course that puts the burden on me to come up with a lesson plan, to an extent, but when I said "Let's get into light (for now) theory, he nodded as if to say "yes, it's time", and now he takes the lead in that.

I know this was a long stream of consciousness (aka brainfart), but I hope it helps. The other guys and gals will contribute even better advice, I am sure. Best of luck and keep contributing. :D

im self taught and was in the exact same position as you. because i had no musical background i didnt realise just how important scales were, so i ignored them for as long as i could and now feel as if i wasted a lot of time.

Even just learning one scale will help tremendously, as your fingers will be used to playing the 1 3 5, 1 3 4, and 1 2 4 patterns that occur on almost all scales (not pentatonic). there are much more qualified people here than me to suggest which scale you learn, but youll find that they are transferable anyway - so if you start with, lets say, the C major scale, you can also play the d major scale just by starting 2 frets higher, and so on.

i found that learning the scale shapes and notes really helped me learn and remember new guitar parts as i could see how they fit into the scale so i understood them more.

good luck :D
Al

I am a bit older than you and have been playing for almost the whole time.....I still find myself hitting plateaus and dry spells
there is always something to learn, something new around the corner.
it is difficult sometimes getting to the next stage. then, sometimes it is so easy. I mean to say that I plug away in the doldrums and one day I will find myself playing something I hadn't before; my fingers going places by themselves.
many 'aha!' moments .
practice and challenge is the best way to learn. practice reading sheet music, learning the intervals in scales, fingerpicking, slide, things like that will create consternation at first and reward later. applying the new to what you know already is a great way to find yourself on the next plateau.
one advantage of being an old player/learner is that we have an abundance patience. right?

The basis, from which all western music stems, is the C scale. Learn that first. Learn how it is constructed - all major scale have the same construction. Learn to apply the major scale to the fretboard.

Most people start off by learning patterns or box shapes. By all means use them, but they are only a stepping stone to understanding how the scale applies to the fretboard. That will allow you to move one scale all over the fretboard as well as play in any major scale.

There's no simple answer to the question, "Where do I go from here?" - it depends where you WANT to go. How do you see yourself in five years time? Do you want to be the go-to guy when someone needs a blistering solo? Or do you want to be the guy who's first to pull a guitar out and start the campfire sing along?

What you need to do is ask yourself what you want to play. Rhythm, lead, fingerpicking - rock, blues, country, jazz, classical etc etc etc....

Do you want to play covers, or do you want to perform your own songs? I'm not much younger than you - 52 - and I only took up playing seriously when I discovered this site about 5 years ago. Since then my rhythm guitar playing has improved a hell of a lot - still not too good at lead, but I'm practising hard. I still harbour daydreams about playing MY songs in public....

If you want to play covers, then you can get most of what you need from any old tab site. If you want to play your own songs, you'll have to delve into the theory side - scales, chord construction, etc.

You need to make a list of your goals - what do YOU want to achieve in the next few years - then work out how best to achieve those goals. Better yet, work out what YOU want to achieve, THEN ask the question again!

You've made a good start - you've joined a great website. Try some of the lessons - they don't just give you the tabs for a song, there's always a wealth of information about why a particular chord change sounds good, or why a particular scale will work over certain chords.

Good luck with your playing!

:D :D :D

Vic

Those lengthier replies and suggestions are far better than this. :oops:

Yeah, hope you find some jam sessions and enjoy a lonnnnng time!

I certainly appreciate the feedback. I think getting started on scales and taking lessons is probably the right way to go. I don't really intend to be an "audience performer". My primary interest is to be able to entertain myself, but I also would like to be able to participate in informal jams with some of the other people at work or be able to hit a few licks at a party and leave a good impression. While my original intent was to concentrate on acoustic music or even acoustic interpretations of more electric stuff, I am finding an increasing interest in my electric. I also would like to be able to noodle around in the blues, something that is equally adaptable to both electric and acoustic. I am going to take the advice of one of the comments and start with the C scale, but can't help wondering if E or A would work into blues work more easily (with the very little music theory I have at the moment).

The basis, from which all western music stems, is the C scale. Learn that first. Learn how it is constructed - all major scale have the same construction. Learn to apply the major scale to the fretboard.

Most people start off by learning patterns or box shapes. By all means use them, but they are only a stepping stone to understanding how the scale applies to the fretboard. That will allow you to move one scale all over the fretboard as well as play in any major scale.

In contrast - and I'm not suggesting Greybeard is wrong by any stretch of the imagination - I don't "teach" scales but note recognition instead (using the Tobin system because my main school likes to use it) which gets students into working with individual notes (in standard notation - A is blue, B is green and so on) rather than scales. I use a C major scale to get students into improvisation over a C-Am-F-G7 sequence but that's some way down the line with most of them.

A :-)